What is a Medical Scribe?

Medical scribes, also known as clinical scribes, are trained medical documentation specialists who assist physicians, physician's assistants, nurse practitioners and other healthcare providers with medical documentation. Medical scribes typically follow the doctor into patient rooms and listen to their interaction with the patient. During this encounter, the scribe will take notes (typically on a laptop) and insert information into the appropriate section of the medical note.The word "scribe" means someone that keeps notes by hand to keep track of records. Ancient Egyptians, though not the first culture to develop a written language, were the first to employ scribes as a profession. The development of modern medical scribes has largely followed the acceptance of electronic medical records (EMRs). The first idea of an electronic patient record was developed in the late-1960s by a British physician. In 1970, American physician William Schwartz published a progressive article in the New England Journal of Medicine and in 1972 the first electronic patient record was created. In 1991, the Institute of Medicine recommended that all physicians implement computers to record patient information and thereby improve patient care. Shortly afterward, in the mid-1990s, hospitals in Nevada and Texas started the first medical scribe programs across the country and in 1995 the first incorporated scribe organization, Physassist, was created. But it wasn't until more companies joined the fray between 2005 and 2007 that the medical scribe industry really took off. At present, there are approximately 50 scribe companies across the United States and employing approximately 20,000 medical scribes, though estimates are that this number will quintuple to 100,000 by 2020.

﻿Although medical scribes were initially used in emergency rooms and urgent cares, they have since spread to hospitals and every type of clinic. It truly is one of the few industries where both parties benefit: physicians have less of a documentation burden and scribes receive a great experience in clinical medicine. Initially many scribes were pre-medical students looking to gain experience prior to medical school applications. In contrast, a more recent development is that in clinical settings many physicians have started using certified medical assistants (CMAs) as scribes.

Most scribes are employed by an organization that hires, trains, and manages scribes and then contracts these employees out to a particular physician. Currently, the industry standard under this system is $19.90 per hour. This is more commonplace in emergency departments and hospitals. In clinical settings, many physicians are starting to hire and train their own scribes. Because they work regular hours, hiring a scribe for themselves is much more feasible from a logistical standpoint. This saves on the cost of hiring a third-party to train and manage a scribe, but it can be stressful to train a scribe on your own. Catering to this demographic, companies like Medical Scribe Training Systems have started offering low-cost courses for individuals.

Check out the videos below to learn more about the modern medical scribe from those with first-hand experience.

Characteristics of a Medical Scribe

Many scribes are pre-health students of some sort (pre-medical, pre-physician assistant, etc). The smartest people don't necessarily make for the best scribes. The good scribe has a unique skill set including:

A humble, personable personality

Attention to detail

Ability to deal well with constructive criticism

Good time management and multi-tasking abilities

Self-motivation to continually learn new information

An ability to type reasonably fast (> 45 words per minute)

Good language and writing skills (including proper grammar and punctuation)